Survey: Consumers loyal to brands that create social media experience

New York -- Survey results released Tuesday by Analytic Partners found that 48% of people between the ages of 18-44 feel that any loyalty they have toward brands in the future will have to stem from the types of experiences the brands create for them.

The experience includes interaction such as video/online gaming, social media and third-party expert information through blogs and articles.

"The general conclusion we can make from these findings is that … loyalty has become a two way street," said Nancy Smith, founder and CEO of Analytic Partners.

The survey also found that 66% of consumers are shopping online using mass market sites like Amazon and Walmart.com, and despite the ease of comparison price shopping, they feel loyal to the brands they buy (63%) on these sites. Consequently the determining factor for this lies within the reviews — 75% feel that the reviews they read online play a major role in the purchases they make.

Of those surveyed, female consumers (68%) are generally more loyal to brands than males (55%). Results also indicated that consumers living in the south are the most loyal to the brands they buy (67%), while those living on the west coast are the least loyal (56%).

While fair pricing and excellent customer service are top of mind for most consumers, the baby boomer generation (ages 49-67) care more than any other age demographic that brands should be transparent about how their products are made (80%).

"As e-commerce continues to grow in popularity, new methods for consumer interaction are becoming a must for brands that want to strengthen retention and loyalty efforts," said Smith. "Therefore it's become increasingly important for brands to look at their data holistically to analyze and develop new ways to meet and exceed consumers' expectations.”

The survey polled 1,000 respondents, and was conducted by Opinion Research Corp.

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